Question: Simplify the following expression: $p = \dfrac{n^2 + 11n + 18}{n + 2} $
Solution: First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ n^2 + 11n + 18 = (n + 2)(n + 9) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $p = \dfrac{(n + 2)(n + 9)}{n + 2} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(n + 2)$ on condition that $n \neq -2$ Therefore $p = n + 9; n \neq -2$